Interviewee: Paul Lombardo. Oliver Wendell Holmes' support for eugenic sterilization was contrary to his record as a defender of civil liberties. (DNAi Location: Chronicle > Trial of Carrie Buck > Epilogue > A champion of human rights?)

Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, widely known as a civil libertarian, issued one of the most chilling statements in court history, when he declared that the Buck family were composed of three generations of imbeciles, of which he said, "three were enough." In fact, Holmes' decision becomes infamous in the annals of American law, not only because of its factual inaccuracy, but because Holmes seems to turn his back on his reputation as a libertarian and champion of human rights.

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